New rules are coming soon around peer-to-peer texting in an effort to register, verify, and track organizations and their texts to ensure quality messaging. In theory, this should be a win-win for campaigns and voters because the new rules will block misinformation, spam, and fraudulent texts while allowing quality messages to be delivered at higher rates.
Some carriers have said they will begin on October 1, 2021 If organizations fail to register and follow the new guidelines in messaging they will risk having their messages not delivered while still paying for the messages.
TLDR If you use one of the major SMS political providers, you will be notified of changes and guided through the registration process.
FAQ
What is 10DLC?
10DLC, 10 Digit Long Code, is what texting platforms use to send text messages with 10 digit local phone numbers. It is also the short name frequently used to describe new peer-to-peer texting rules that are being implemented to hold senders accountable.
What is The Campaign Registry?
The Campaign Registry is the information hub that allows the registration of 10DLC messaging campaigns. The Campaign Registry was formed to provide a simplified, fair, and unbiased service by working with carriers, messaging companies, and industry partners to establish common standards.
What is Campaign Verify?
Campaign Verify is the vetting partner for political entities for The Campaign Registry. Campaign Verify is a non-partisan, non-profit service for U.S. political campaigns, parties, and PACs to verify their identity. Campaign Verify will issue a “pin code” to any candidate, party, PAC, or other committee that is a 527 tax-exempt organization and registered with the Federal Election Commission, or a State, Local, or Tribal Election Authority. Each campaign will need to register once every two-year cycle with Campaign Verify for $95.
What does this mean for my campaign?
With the 10DLC rules and The Campaign Registry, political campaigns will have to register with The Campaign Registry and follow 10DLC guidelines in order to continue sending peer to peer text messages to voters. Every campaign will need to be vetted by Campaign Verify, register as a political use case, and “Brand” with The Campaign Registry.
How do I get registered?
First, campaigns will need to get verified at Campaign Verify. Campaigns will fill out a form with their campaign filing information matching either with the FEC or state/local election record and pay a $95 fee. Once verified the campaign will receive a “pin code” that is entered with Campaign Verify to receive their “token” to be used to register as a political use case with The Campaign Registry.
SMS platforms like Hustle, ThruText, Spoke, TextOut, etc., will assist campaigns with The Campaign Registry registration.
If you send messages from multiple entities, each will need to be registered. To register each entity, you will need to provide your organization name, EIN, mailing address, email, and Campaign Verify “token”.
The Campaign Registry will have a setup fee and ongoing recurring monthly fees for every campaign registered, plus the individual carriers may have their own individual message fees (fees have yet to be released).
Text Message Best Practices for Compliance
Identify who the sender is and intended
Example: “Hi {{ContactFirstName}}, this is {{SenderName}} with {{Organization}}.”
Opt out language
Example: “Reply stop to opt-out”
Length matters-- Keep it to 3 segments or less
Example: “Hi {{FirstName}}, this is {{SenderName}} with Tech for Campaigns. Your absentee ballot should have arrived. Can I count on you to return your ballot tomorrow? (Reply stop to opt-out)”
No links in the initial outbound message
